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SB 455 
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copy i ADDRESS 



DELIVERED BEFORE 



THE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 
OF MARYLAND, 



THIRD ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION, 

June 4th, 1835. 



FRANCIS H. DAVIDGE. 



baitimoeb: 
printed by jos. robinson, 

1835. 



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SBf55 

» «JL/ 3 Baltimore, June 5th, 1835. 

F. H. Davidge, Esq. 

Dear StY, — As a committee appointed on the part of the Horticultu- 
ral Society of Maryland, we take pleasure in communicating to you the 
unanimous expression of thanks by the Society for the interesting and 
eloquent address delivered by you last evening, and request the favor 
of a copy for publication. 

We remain, 

Very truly yours, 

Joshua I. Cohen, 
T. Edmondson, Jr., 
Edw. Kurtz. 



Baltimore, June 5th, 1835. 
Gentlemen : 

Notwithstanding the fear which suggests itself, that the address of 
which you request a copy for publication, may not meet with, on the 
part of the community at large, the friendly and indulgent appreciation 
entertained for it by the Horticultural Society, I hasten to comply with 
the desire expressed in your note of this date. Hoping that as a hasty 
transcript, of thoughts and feelings naturally suggested by the delight- 
ful topicks of which it proposes to treat, composed in the midst of the 
constant and perplexing interruptions of professional duty, it may find 
mercy at the hands of fastidious criticism, I remain, with best wishes 
for the prosperity of the Society of which you are the representatives., 
and your individual happiness. 

Very truly yours, 

F. IT. Davidge, 
To Joshua I. Cohen, M. D., 
T. Edmondson, Jr. Esq., 
Edw. Kurtz, Esq., 

Committee. 



ADDRESS. 



Ladies and Gentlemen op the Horticultural Society: 

In accordance with your wishes, expressed through 
your committee, I propose to discharge the pleasing 
duty of addressing you on this interesting occasion. 
It would be affectation on my part to pretend that so 
great a distinction, coming from such a source, has not 
gratified me, nor can I shut out the consciousness that, 
in making your selection, reference has been had 
more to sentiments of personal regard, than to any 
peculiar ability in me to descant worthily on sub- 
jects, the grace and beauty of which are so entirely 
at variance with the dullness and monotony of my 
ordinary pursuits. To find myself so kindly appreci- 
ated by you, is the more acceptable, as great in- 
deed must have been the warmth of that regard which 
could have induced you, in designating me for so ho- 
norable a duty, to pass over the claims of many mem- 
bers of the society, whose high intellectual endow- 
ments, ripened scholarship, and familiar acquaintance 
with the topicks to be noticed, are far, very far, superi- 
or to mine. Relying on the spirit of friendly indulgence 
which has thus far shewn itself in my behalf, I shall 



6 

now proceed to perform my pleasing task, and if in 
the course of my remarks I shall be so fortunate as 
to present any thing worthy of the consideration of 
this enlightened assemblage, or in keeping with the 
lovely and enchanting scene by which we are sur- 
rounded, I shall feel most amply repaid for any exer- 
tion which the occasion may have called forth. 

Before entering on my subject, I must be permitted, 
in passing, to advert to the admirable taste displayed in 
the choice of the season for the celebration in which 
we are engaged. 

The hoary headed dotard Winter, after lingering 
in the lap of Spring, has at length wrapped his shrivel- 
led form in the folds of his snowy mantle, and fled, 
wearing his crown of withered leaves, gemmed with 
ice drops, to his native regions of the North, there to 
dwell until he shall be again permitted to direct his 
desolating march along our fields, and sweep with ruf- 
fian hand, from the face of Nature, the emblems of 
peace and joy and loveliness. Summoning around 
him his grim retinue of tempests, he has gone, amid 
the howlings of the storm, to visit those Arctic wilds 
which have, from time immemorial, recognized the 
potency of his iron sceptre. Ever and anon casting 
a backward glance, and shaking from his streaming 
locks the sleety torrents of his baffled wrath, he threat- 
ens to return and kill the promise of the growing year. 
To his throne has succeeded bright eyed Spring. 



" She moves rcsplendant thro' the whispering air, 
Brig-lit as the morn descends her blushing car, 
Each circling wheel a wreath of flowers entwines, 
And gemmed with flowers the silken harness shines, 
The golden bits with flowery studs arc deck'd 
And knots of flowers the crimson reins connect. 
********* 

Fair Spring advancing calls her feather'd quire, 
And tunes to softer notes her laughing lyre ; 
Bids her gay hours on purple pinions move, 
And arms her Zephyrs with the shafts of Love. 
Pleased Gnomes, ascending from their earthy beds. 
Play round her graceful footsteps, as she treads ; 
Gay Sylphs attendant, beat the fragrant air, 
On winnowing wings, and waft her golden hair ; 
Blue Nymphs emerging leave their sparkling streams, 
And fiery forms alight from orient beams, 
Musk'd in the rose's lap, fresh dews they shed, 
Or breathe celestial odours round her head." 

Released from their icy fetters by her magic touch, 
the streams pursue their way rejoicing and murmur 
forth their hymn of liberty! The green clad hills up- 
lift their heads in glee, and on their brows are seen 
gay wreaths of flowers that greet the passing breeze 
with balmy fragrance. The labour loving Bee has 
wandered forth to gather sweets, and warblers of the 
wood attune their throats to new born melodies. All 
nature is alive and full of ecstasy. The herd set free, 
now crops the verdant meed in gladness, and proud 
creation's lord himself, acknowledges her sway, and 
feels fresh vigour in his pliant frame. The aged sire 
now sits beside his door, and basking in the genial 
sunshine, loves to see his offspring sport, and hear 
the music of blythe childhood's laugh. Even the 
martyr to disease, whom months have seen the tenant 
of his chamber, now takes his staff and totters forth, 



to breathe again the air of Heaven and gaze once 
more on Nature's loveliness. Is not this, then, I would 
ask, the time when all hearts are warm and full of 
gladness, 

" When the young, the rosy Spring, 
Gives to the breeze her spangled wing : 
While Virgin Graces, warm with May, 
Fling roses o'er her dewy way! 
********** 

When the earth prolific swells 
With leafy buds and flowery bells; 
Gemming shoots the olive twine, 
Clusters rich festoon the vine ; 
All along the branches creeping, 
Through the velvet foliage peeping, 
Little infant fruits we see 
Nursing into luxury !" 

that we should assemble and meet together to cele- 
brate creation's jubilee? That, like our sires of old, 
we should gather the first fruits and the earliest flowers, 
and offer up, in this, the home of our blessedness, on 
the shrine of our holiest and most grateful affections, 
the incense of their loveliness, to the all seeing all 
protecting God of our humble adoration. That we, 
the creatures of his powers, should spread before him 
the outpourings of his bounty, and join in paying the 
tribute of our thankfulness to that Being whose life- 
time is eternity. 

The subject, of which I am about to speak, is so 
replete with sweetness and abounds with such a va- 
riety of beauties, that, like the Epicure who beholds 
before him the outspread banquet, I am at a loss 



where to begin. Even in this age of universal im- 
provement, when the spirit of advancement has fixed 
its stamp on every department of human knowledge, 
the notice of the most casual observer must have been 
attracted by the rapid progress made, within the last 
thirty years, in that portion of our subject which is 
connected with the gratifications of the palate, as well 
as that branch of it, which may be styled ornamental, 
and makes its appeal to the senses of smell and sight. ' 
Plants of the most exquisite taste, flavour and health 
bestowing qualities, which, until within a few years 
past, were entirely unknown, or, if seen, were only 
to be found at the banquets of the most wealthy, have 
become so domesticated amongst us, and are produced 
in such rich abundance, as to be no longer strangers 
at the social board of the most humble. Flowers 
that but a short time since were cherished and nur- 
tured in the hot houses and conservatories of the rich, 
for whose enjoyment alone, their endless varieties of 
tint and sense enrapturing odours were reserved, may 
now be seen expanding their lovely bosoms to the 
sunbeams, and exhaling their balmy perfume to the 
breeze, in the neatly trimmed enclosure of the ordina- 
ry citizen. 

To the production of a change so welcome, numer- 
ous causes have contributed, a passing notice of which 
may be deemed necessary to a full understanding of 
the matters of which we are speaking. 
2 



10 

Perhaps no portion of the globe is more highly 
favoured, in point of geographical situation and ad- 
vantages of climate, than the region by which we are 
surrounded. Forming the proper middle ground 
between the intense and long continued heats of 
more southern, and the pinching cold of more north- 
ern latitudes, our State partakes of the advanta- 
ges belonging to each withont being liable to the ob- 
jections attaching to either. With a summer suffi- 
ciently long and warm to bring vegetation to full 
maturity, we have a winter, of such duration and 
severity as to prevent the exhaustion consequent upon 
protracted demands upon the earth, by vegetation too 
long continued, furnishing its mantle of snows for 
the protection of those plants, which without such a 
covering, would fall victims to the intensity of the 
frost. In addition to these local advantages, Provi- 
dence has kindly furnished, for our benefit, a soil 
which although, originally, not extremely fertile, is 
warm and generous, and containing within it proper- 
ties eminently adapted to excite and mature vegeta- 
ble growths, offers, even without the aid of cultivation, 
a botanical product, the richness and variety of which 
have attracted the observation and commanded the 
admiration of all foreigners. It is not strange then, 
that, under circumstances such as these, combined 
with some others to which I shall merely advert, the 
active energies of our people sedulously applied, 



11 

should have procured results so valuable and so wor- 
thy of remark. 

All who are here present are of course acquainted, 
from memory or historical tradition, with the melancho. 
\y events which, not very many years since, converted 
one of the most lovely of the West Indian Isles into a vast 
field of bloodshed, and compelled such of the unfortu- 
nate inhabitants as escaped the general carnage, to seek, 
in utter destitution, an asylum in foreign lands. To 
those scenes of horror, the bare mention of which is 
calculated to call forth a shudder, are we, strange as 
it may seem, in a great measure indebted for the im- 
provements of which we are so justly proud. In 
looking for a place of refuge, the wretched outcasts 
from this modern Eden, guided by chance, or, perhaps 
we should say, a higher Power, sought our city and 
its vicinity as their haven of rest, bringing with them 
the only riches upon which barbarian rapaciousness 
had not laid its grasp, their intelligence, their moral 
worth, and that indomitable spirit which makes even 
misfortune contribute to human happiness. Com- 
pelled to labour for a livelihood, men of rank and 
learning, of elegance and refinement, made what had 
previously been a source of pleasure and recreation, 
tributary to their support, and, by introducing the 
culture of those fruits with which observation had 
made them acquainted in the land " where the citron 
and orange are sweetest of fruit," conferred upon us 



12 

blessings as lasting as they are invaluable. These 
circumstances, in connexion with the influx of stran- 
gers from every part of Europe, who have been forc- 
ed to leave the places of their nativity by civil com- 
motions, political revolutions, or a desire to worship 
their Maker in the manner pointed out by their own 
consciences, and who have brought with them the 
lights of scientific research or practical experience, 
have tended to enlarge, in so surprising a degree, 
the stock of vegetable products, remarkable for their 
beauty or desirable on account of their usefulness. 

It must be admitted that the present excellence of 
our kitchen and flower gardens is to be attributed, so 
far as man is concerned, to individual enterprize, but 
it must not be forgotten that the primary source of 
these benefits is one to which man's agency is subor- 
dinate and infinitely inferior. The fountain head 
from which these blessings spring is to be found in 
the Giver of Light, the Great First Cause. Yes, my 
friends, let us ascend, if you will, the giddy heights of 
our mountain precipices, untrodden, save by the foot 
of the fearless hunter or the hardy woodman, and I 
will shew you, in each crevice of the riven rock, my- 
riads of lovely flowerets trembling in the summer 
breeze, 

" That bloom to blush unseen, 
And waste their sweetness on the desert air." 

Come, dive with me into the depths of our pri- 
maeval forests, late the abode of the rude, untutored 



13 

Indian, and you shall behold the wild Honeysuckle 
twining its delicate branches around the gnarled oak, 
and loading the Zephyrs with its sweetness, whilst, at 
its side, the graceful grapevine bears its blushing ho- 
nours thick, but unheeded^ save by the feathered song- 
sters of the grove. Let us wander over the widely 
extended prairie, and you shall find the dewberry and 
the wild strawberry courting the taste with their blush- 
es at every step. Or, if you will rove by the side of 
the sparkling rivulet, that dances dazzlingly along its 
pebbled course, you may pluck hundreds of moisture 
loving plants, each possessing qualities of rarest worth, 
where the hand of cultivation never toiled. These 
are the outpourings of the Almighty's wealth, that, 
unnurtured by the care of man, 

" Return the sweets by Nature given 
Iu softest incense back to heav'n." 

Yes my friends, if there be a spot upon the globe 
where the vegetable kingdom displays its hordes of 
richest fruits and stores of sweetest flowers, in their 
fullest and most varied luxuriance, it is the land of our 
birth, " the loveliest land on the face of the earth." 
It is here that the Lilac of Persia, the Lily of France, 
the Rose of England, the golden Broom of Scotland, 
and, I might almost say, the flowers of every clime 
may live in sweet companionship together, — whilst the 
hardy Pine of the North, the Magnolia of the South, 
the Pride of eastern China and the Acacia of the 



14 

western forest, may revel in the glorious sunshine 
and wave their verdant crests, in amorous dalliance 
with the summer winds. 

It may be thought strange, that, in the midst of 
such advantages, in the very home of fruits and flow- 
ers, there should not have been established, until so 
late a period, an institution devoted to the advance- 
ment of so interesting a branch of knowledge, whilst 
other sections of our country, to which Nature has 
been less bountiful of her charms, have for many 
years cherished and sustained associations formed for 
that purpose. Be that as it may, the Horticultural 
Society has been at last established, and I may be 
permitted to add, in adverting to the salutary effects 
of its institution, already so strongly manifested in the 
interest which has been excited in its behalf, that no 
success which may have thus far attended, or may 
hereafter await the exertions of those who compose 
it, can ever repay them the for benefits which must 
accrue to the community from their laudable undertak- 
ing. 

In the old world, where the many toil for the few, 
where the lives of the great are spent in catering to 
the gratification of their tastes, and, where millions, 
wrung from the brow of hardy toil, are expended in 
adorning the luxurious villas of the opulent, or pur- 
chasing dainties for their tables, the science of fruits 
and flowers has, from a remote era, been fostered and 



r 



15 



promoted by the great, in the foremost rank of whom 
may be seen royalty itself. Rene, king of Anjou, 
called the Henry the Fourth of Provence, was the first 
to introduce to garden culture the Carnation and the 
Red Rose, whose praises are thus sung by Love's own 
bard, Anacreon, 

" While we invoke the wreathed Spring 1 , 
Resplendent Rose ! to thee we'll sing ; 
Resplendent Rose ! the flower of flowers, 
Whose breath perfumes Olympus' bowers ; 
Whose virgin blush, of chastened dye 
Enchants so much our mortal eye. 
Oft has the poet's magic tongue 
The Rose's fair luxuriance sung ; 
And long the Muses, heavenly maids, 
Have reared it in their tuneful shades. 
When, at the early glance of morn, 
It sleeps upon the glittering thorn, 
'Tis sweet to dare the langled fence, 
To cull the timid flow'ret thence, 
And wipe, with tender hand, away 
The tear that on its blushes lay ! 
'Tis sweet to hold the infant stems, 
Yet dropping with Aurora's gems, 
And fresh inhale the spicy sighs, 
That from the weeping buds arise. 
When revel reigns, when mirth is high, 
And Bacchus beams in every eye, 
Our rosy fillets scent exhale, 
And fill with balm the fainting gale ! 
Oh, there is nought in Nature bright, 
Where roses do not shed their light ! 
When morning paints the Orient skies, 
Her fingers burn with roseate dyes ! 
And when at length, with pale decline, 
Its florid beauties fade and pine, 
Sweet as in youth its balmy breath 
Diffuses odour ev'n in death !" 

Henry the Fourth of France, at whose nod king- 
doms trembled, wished to connect his people with 
other nations by a chain of flowers, when he founded 
the celebrated Garden of Plants at Paris, and it is 



16 

thus to the zeal of that great monarch, as writers in- 
form us, that we are indebted for the introduction 
into Europe, of the China Aster, the Indian Pink, the 
Mignonette of Egypt, the Eastern Tube Rose, the 
Heliotrope, the Nasturtian, the Persian Jasmine and 
many other lovely flowers that enrich the autumnal 
Flora of the present age, which had previously been 
limited, to use their own expression, to " the verdant 
chaplet of vine leaves." 

In this new world of ours, where free institutions 
forbid the existence of the tree of Royalty, under 
whose chilling shade man droops and declines, where 
the accumulation of overgrown fortunes and its ne- 
cessary attendant, privileged rank, is prevented by 
the policy of our political establishments, it is peculi- 
arly proper that, so far as the encouragement of the 
arts and sciences is concerned, their place should be 
supplied by the institution of societies whose collected 
intellect and pecuniary ability may be adequate to 
enterprizes exceeding the scope of private means. 
Societies that may hold out to ambitious toil suitable 
rewards, and cherish, by their fostering care, those 
departments of knowledge, which, without their aid, 
would sink into a state of lethargy, for the want of 
sufficient stimulus to activity. 

It is now two or three years since a few of our 
public spirited fellow citizens, acting in accordance 
with the sentiments I have just expressed, associated 



17 

themselves under the appellation of " The Horticul- 
tural Society of Maryland." In the organization of 
this Society there is one feature which I must be 
permitted to notice, as honorable to the liberality of 
its founders, and indicative of their just appreciation 
of that portion of our race to which we are in fact 
indebted for all the refinement we may possess, — I 
allude to the introduction of those who form " fair 
creation^ fairest part," as fellow labourers in the 
cause of beauty and of taste. If reference be had to 
the useful part of horticulture, it must be admitted, 
that those, to whom our social economy has assigned 
the management of our domestic concerns ; including 
the art of preparing for the gratification of the palate 
the gifts which Nature has furnished for our use; 
should possess a knowledge of the respective qualities 
belonging to the products of the kitchen garden. So, 
if, on the other hand, we look to that portion of our 
subject which treats of flowers, I appeal to the gallant- 
ry of every gentleman within the sound of my voice, 
whether it be not right that they, whose peculiar pro- 
vince is beauty and refinement, should join with us 
in promoting the progress of elegance and taste, — that 
they, whose presence diffuses light and life throughout 
the social circle, whose smile gladdens and whose 
sympathies soothe, soften down, and subdue the aspe- 
rities of our sterner nature, should unite with us, in 

arraying the earth in the mantle of its beauties, and 
3 



IS 

spreading before the eye of the Creator, in their most 
varied luxuriance, the gifts which his goodness has 
provided for our support or gratification. 

Whilst, however, we award to these gentlemen the 
credit which so justly belongs to them, it must in can- 
dour be confessed, that selfishness may have mingled 
itself with their motives. They must have been aware, 
that, without the aid of the softer sex, their efforts 
would have lost half of their efficiency, and must have 
felt that in this, as well as every other laudable pur- 
suit, the applauding smile of lovely woman is the 
highest reward for which man can contend. 

It may possibly be supposed, by the casual observ- 
er, that horticulture does not present to the inquisitive 
mind a field of research sufficiently extended, or, sub- 
jects for examination sufficiently dignified, to justify 
the formation of societies, or enlist the energies of 
highly endowed intellect. If there be in this assem- 
blage a single individual who entertains such a senti- 
ment, let me beseech him to dismiss it from his mind 
as an error too gross to receive, for an instant, his 
sanction. I would say to him, without the fear of 
contradiction, that, however interesting it may be to 
the mineralogist to search after the earth's hidden 
treasures, — to the geologist, to become versed in the 
various soils of which the vast globe on which we live 
is composed, — to the chemist, to ascertain the myste- 
ries of those wonderful affinities that bind together 



19 

matter in its infinitely diversified forms, — or, to the 
natural philosopher, to make himself acquainted with 
the laws by which the Great First Cause controls the 
elements and directs the arcana of creation; neither 
collectively nor singly do they present more noble 
aliment for thought, than does the science that treats 
of vegetable growths, as forming the medium through 
which the subjects of the sister sciences are made 
available to life ; constituting, as it were, the link that 
connects the earth with the animated beings by which 
it is inhabited, and man with the Power whose fiat 
called him into existence. 

It must not for a moment be supposed, that the 
small portion of ground, enclosed with its tidy fence, 
along which the Jessamine and the Honeysuckle en- 
twine themselves so gracefully, and its walks and bor- 
ders, laid out with so much neatness and precision; or 
the hot house with its pyramids of shelves, its heated 
air, and its transparent walls, form the limits of the 
horticulturist's inquiries. They are but the humble 
means that serve to display, at a glance, the nucleus 
from which arise reflections and imaginings which 
are coextensive with wide creation's widest range, 
and mingle themselves with the aspirations of that 
principle which assimilates man to his Creator, and 
constitutes him a candidate for immortality. The 
learning of the horticulturist should comprehend a 
knowledge of mineralogy, that he may be aware of 



20 

the effects produced by the presence of minerals in the 
soil he cultivates, — of geology, that he may understand 
what earth is best adapted to the growth and expan- 
sion of his charge, — and of natural philosophy, that he 
may know the laws which govern the elements as 
component parts of the atmosphere from which the 
endless varieties of vegetables derive their sustenance. 
— In a word, he should study Nature's mighty plan, 
in all its parts, that he may comprehend, first, the 
way in which vegetation may be best promoted, and 
secondly, the objects to which it may be most advan- 
tageously applied. 

For even the most ignorant, the garden has irresisti- 
ble attractions; whether it be as the furnisher of the 
means of life, in the humble Potato, the poor man's 
never failing friend, the luxurious Melon, or the lus- 
cious Grape, — of gratification to the sight, in the mel- 
low tints of the lowly Heart's ease, the spotless white- 
ness of the Lily, and the gorgeous colouring of the 
Cactus Speciosissimus, — or of fascination to the sense 
of smelling, in the softly breathed odours of the mod- 
est Mignonette and the gentle Violet, or the gushing 
fragrance of the Queen of Flowers, the banquet loving 
Rose. Yes! these delights are open to the enjoyment 
of the most uninformed, they spring from instincts of 
our nature and require no scholarship to give them 
strength. 



2\ 

To the educated gardener, those objects are sour- 
ces of a purer, a nobler gratification. They carry 
with them associations that beguile him of the present, 
and lead him captive, along the avenues of time, to 
the deepest recesses of antiquity. They conduct him 
through the shadowy forms of men and things, long 
since departed, and connect themselves with the 
choicest and holiest emanations of his spirit. They 
present to his mental vision those sublime truths of 
which, fragile as they may be, they have, for ages, been 
regarded as the lovely emblems, and form the ground 
work of scientific researches involving the organiza- 
tion of universal being. 

The apparently insignificant Mignonette transports 
the lover of historical lore, to its own native Egypt, 
and leads him, in fancy, to rove along the prolific bor- 
ders of the seven mouthed Nile. The land of Cleo- 
patra arises to his imagination, with its long train of 
departed kings and heroes, — its pyramids that tell of 
greatness now no more, — its ruined temples and sym- 
bolical emblems, the reliques of a religion as imposing 
as it has been transitory. A shadowy creation bursts 
upon his vision, and he is made to behold, reflected 
in the dusky mirror of antiquity, the scenes described 
in Holy Writ, — he is with God's peculiar people in 
the house of bondage, and loves to gaze with the deep- 
est veneration on the birth place of the arts and scien- 
ces, the hallowed source whence the rivers of know- 



22 

ledge, which in after times have served to quench the 
intellectual thirst of man, take their origin. 
Should the majestic Lily, 

" in its vest of lawn, 
Whiter than foam upon the crested wave, 
Pure as the spirit parted from its grave, 
When every stain that earth had left is gone," 

be seen rearing its head above surrounding plants, he 
is at once hurried away to the times of a Charlemagne, 
or a Clovis, and sees unrolled before him the historic 
scroll of that gallant nation, whose armorial device 
it has been for so many ages. 

The Red and the White Rose speak of the rivalship 
of the Houses of York and Lancaster for the British 
throne, and are mingled with the proudest recol- 
lections of our fatherland ; whilst the Sun Flower 
brings to mind, the sad narrative of the cruelty and 
oppression with which a nation, boasting the mild and 
affectionate precepts of the religion of the cross, over- 
whelmed the mighty empires of the southern portion 
of our own continent, and sacrificed millions of fellow 
beings, to gratify its lust for power and wealth. 

In the bed of flowers, as well as the assemblage of 
the proud offspring of the forest, the lover of classic 
lore finds innumerable remembrancers of the delight- 
ful fictions, traced by the pen of an Ovid, or the love- 
ly descriptions of the economy of rural life, so sweetly 
sung in the Georgics of a Virgil. — He sees in the at- 
titudes and colorings of the most common plants, 



23 

analogies, connected with the imaginings of the most 
gifted Poets, and closely allied to the mythological 
traditions, so venerated by the revered philosophers 
and sages of heathen antiquity. 

To the lover of natural science, what a field of en- 
quiry is presented in the growth and economy of the 
simplest flower, the process by which the atmosphere 
imparts to it health and strength, and the manner in 
which the peculiar qualities of the soil, wherein it 
grows, are borne through all its branches, modifying 
the tints of its blossom, the hue of its leaf, or the 
glassy smoothness of its stem! It is for him to ascer- 
tain what the peculiar something is, of which the at- 
mosphere is deprived, in furnishing sustenance to vege- 
tation, — to learn what ingredient of the soil has served 
to paint the flowret's leaf, or what other portion of 
matter has yielded the glossy polish to its stalk. — Of 
the great principle which governs these nice proces- 
ses, man knows and can know nothing, the secret of 
life must remain hidden with Him who is the Life 
of life. 

Did the time permit, I might extend these illustra- 
tions still further, but we will now turn for a moment 
to the moralist, to whom the charms of Horticulture 
address themselves, with, if possible, a more immedi- 
ate and touching appeal. As he looks from his case- 
ment, to inhale the freshness of the morning air, his 
senses are regaled by all that is lovely to the sight, or 



24 

grateful to the smell. Gazing around to ascertain the 
sources of such exquisite delight, he beholds the 
Honeysuckle and the Jessamine, intertwining their 
tendrils with those of the Morning Glory and the 
Passion Flower, — near him he espies the Carnation 
and the Violet nestling among the rank grass, — the 
Linden Tree is spreading its delicate foliage, yet drip- 
ping with dew, and the stately Oak is waving its verdant 
boughs, and seems to court the coming breeze. The 
Tulip Tree uplifts its graceful form, whilst the hum- 
ble shrubs stretch forth their tiny branches in the 
attitude of praise and thanksgiving — Yes ! they are 
offering up to their Creator, in silent gratefulness, the 
incense of their loveliness! To the moralist, each 
plant conveys its peculiar lesson, but taken collective- 
ly, they breathe to him a language which sinks deep 
into the recesses of his heart. They tell of that love 
which can alone sweeten existence; which clings to 
the cherished object of its affections, in joy and in 
sorrow, with untiring, ever growing fondness; expand- 
ing its delicate arms to shelter the beloved being on 
which it depends for support, and cheering with its 
close embraces, the idol of its affections amid all the 
changes and vicissitudes of fickle fortune. They 
speak of married love, ardent but delicate, tender, 
devoted and self-forgetting,— of genuine merit, unob- 
trusive, retiring and bashful, but, by its excellences, 
attracting the regard it seems to shun, — of warm- 



25 

hearted, open-handed hospitality, that knows no 
bounds to its munificence, and of rural happiness, 
with which it loves to dwell. 

I have thus attempted to give a faint outline of 
some of the subjects, coming directly or indirectly 
within the range of the studies and observation of the 
well informed Horticulturist. That they form a por- 
tion, although small, of the vast field of investigation 
naturally connected with the culture of fruits and 
flowers, cannot, I think, be doubted by any reflecting 
mind. Will it be said that such subjects as these are 
not of sufficient dignity to enlist in their service all of 
our energies, physical and intellectual? I fearlessly 
answer No. Let then the members of this association 
press forward in the noble work, which they have so 
worthily commenced. Let their watchward ever be, 
onward, and although the results of their labours may 
be, at first, comparatively small, it will be the province 
of futurity to declare, in all their fullness, the benefits 
of which they will have been the originators. With 
such a soil and such a climate as we possess, and a ve- 
vegetable product of such unbounded variety as that 
offered by our own country alone, no adequate estimate 
can at present be made of the advantages to accrue 
from well concerted, harmonious, action on the part of 
even the limited number now composing this society. 
The discovery of America has already introduced to 
the knowledge of what may be termed the civilized 



26 

world, a single plant, the Potato, which has deprived 
famine of half its victims and penury of half its hor- 
rors. Who then will undertake to say that, inasmuch 
as almost all of the powerful assuagers of human 
misery have been found allied to the vegetable king- 
dom, there may not remain, among the countless my- 
riads of plants decorating our hills, the names of 
which are yet unknown, some one that will alleviate still 
further the " ills that flesh is heir to," and restore 
man, in some measure, to his primitive exemption 
from pain? Nay more, is it not possible that, among 
the bright intelligences roused into activity by the 
honors conferred by this very society, there may be 
an American LinnaBus, who will present to the world, 
discoveries of greater importance far, than those 
which have conferred immortality on the celebrated 
Swedish naturalist of that name? 

In conclusion let me remark, that, as yet, this As- 
sociation is in the spring tide of its existence, and 
that, although the dews of public favor have descend- 
ed softly and refreshingly upon its growth, causing the 
seeds of future benefits to shoot luxuriantly, and put 
forth blossoms which promise the richest fruits, it 
will require the continued sunshine of ardent zeal, to 
bring these products to their full maturity. Should 
the chilling air of neglect be permitted to visit too 
harshly the lively interest and sincere esteem now en- 
tertained for its prosperity and utility, or should the 



21 

weeds of jealousy and distrust be suffered to rear their 
noxious heads, within the circle of its policy, there is too 
much reason to fear that all our hopes may be blasted, 
and the result of our labours be nothing better than the 
tares of deceitful promise. To prevent consequences 
so deplorable, it becomes the duty of every fellow labor- 
er at the task, to guard with unceasing watchfulness, 
against evils which, if permitted to take root, must re- 
quire infinite pains to eradicate them, and may, after all 
our efforts, mar the lovely prospect of our hopes. 

At present, every thing looks well. The Rose of 
Beauty uplifts its head, and cheers us with its full 
blown blushes, and its budding charms, — the Orange 
Tree of Generosity is holding forth its golden trea- 
sures, — the Strawberry of Perfection is already seen 
in lovely groups, whilst the absence of the Columbine 
of Folly, leaves room for the Hawthorn of Hope, and 
the Fig of Longevity, — the Potato of Benificence is 
abundant, and we see nothing of the Narcissus of Sel- 
fishness, or the Skirrett of Coldness, — the Cabbage of 
Profit excludes the Dead Leaves of Melancholy, and 
the Hops of Injustice. It is true, that the Musk Rose 
of Capricious Beauty adorns our collection, but, as it 
is accompanied by the Grass of Utility, and as neither 
the Marigold or Cypress of Despair shew themselves, 
we may fondly hope, that the future has in store for 
us the Perriwinkles of Sweet Recollections. 



28 

Here I must bid you, adieu! and, if my zeal for the 
cause I advocate, has outstripped my ability to reward 
the attention so kindly extended to me, or if, forgetful 
of the lapse of moments, I may have descanted too 
much at length on subjects whose charms so far trans- 
cend the powers of even the most gifted, adequately 
to describe them — If, like the benighted Bee, led on 
from sweet to sweet, 

" Too late I've staid, forgive the crime ! 
Unheeded fly the hours, 
And noiseless falls the foot of time, 
That treads o'er fruits and flowers," 



OFFICERS 



HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY OF MARYLAND. 



BEN J. I. COHEN, President. 
ZEBULON WATERS, -j 
JOSEPH KING, Jr., f T _ D . . . 
JOHN P. KENNEDY, >**» Pre****. 

T. EDMONDSON, Jr., ) 

G. B. SMITH, Cor. Secretary. 

O. W. TREADWELL, Rec. Secretary. 

E. KURTZ, Treasurer. 

COUNCIL. 

EVAN P. THOMAS, 
SAMUEL FEAST, 
WM. G. THOMAS, 
JOHN FEAST, 
Dr. R. W. HALL, 
Dr. ELI GEDDINGS, 
E. W. COLBURN, 
Dr. J. I. COHEN, 
Dr. W. FISHER, 
J. P. KRAFFT, 
CHARLES C. HARPER, 
CHARLES E. WETHERED, 
HENRY SCHROEDER, 
Dr. JULIUS T. DUCATEL, 
GEO. W. DOBBIN, 
GEO. DUNCAN, 
GEO. H. KEERL, 
PETER COOMBS, 
EDWARD KEEN, 
EDMUND DIDIER, 
CALEB WHITTEMORE, 
THOMAS KEHOE, 
Dr. JOHN W. GREETHAM. 
ROBT. A. TAYLOR, 



n 



MEMBERS' NAMES. 



T. P. Allen, 
Joshua J. Atkinson, 
Mrs. Dr. Alexander, 
Robert Armstrong, 

William Bose, 
Hugh Birckhead, 
Dr. John Buckler, 
Joseph Boyd, Jr., 
John B. Bastian, 
David Barnum, 
George Brown, 
Edward Beatty, 
Mrs. F. W. Brune, 
Mrs. Hugh Birckhead, 
Gorham Brooks, 

B. I. Cohen, 

Mrs. B. I. Cohen, 

Dr. Joshua I. Cohen, 

Mr. David I. Cohen, 

Mrs. David I. Cohen, 

Mrs. P. I. Cohen, 

Dr. A. B. Cleveland, 

E. W. Colburn, 

Chs. Carroll, of Homewood, 

Daniel Cobb, 

Nelson Clark, 

John Cole, 

Peter Coombs, 



James Cox, 
James Carroll, Jr., 

Geo. W. Dobbin, 
Mrs. Geo. W. Dobbin, 
John S. Donnell, 
Dr. Julius T. Ducatel, 
Philip Dawson, 
Dr. A. Dunan, 
George Duncan, 
James Dunbar, 
Mrs. Edmund Didier, 
Robert Dore, 
Henry Didier, 
Francis H. Davidge, 
Henry Dukehart, 

Mrs. Thos. L. Emory, 
Thomas Edmondson, 
Mrs. Thos. Edmondson, 
Thomas Edmondson, Jr., 
Miss Edmondson, 
Samuel Ellicott, Jr., 
Mrs. Samuel Ellicott, Jr., 
William M. Ellicott, 
P. T. Ellicott, 
H. Ellicott, 
J. P. Erskine, 
John Ellicott, 
Elias Ellicott, 



31 



Wm. H. Freeman, 
Mrs. Wm. H. Freeman, 
John Feast, 
Samuel Feast, 
Dr. Wm. Fisher, 
Alexander Fridge, 
James Fitzgerald, 

Edward Gray, 
Mrs. Edward Gray, 
Dr. Elie Geddings, 
Dr. Geo. S. Gibson, 
Allen Griffith, 
John Glenn, 
Robert Gilmor, 
Mrs. Robert Gilmor, 
William Gwinn, 
Frederick Graff, 
Dr. J. W. Greetham, 

David Hoffman, 
J. J. Hoogewerff, 
Charles C. Harper, 
Jeremiah Hoffman, 
Miss Emily Hoffman, 
John Hoffman, 
Mrs. Geo. Hoffman, 
Dr. R. W. Hall, 
Wm. G. Harrison, 
Miss Margaret Hammer, 
Peter Hoffman, 
John Hopkins, 
Mrs. Saml. Hoffman, 
Dr. R. P. Hoffman, 
Leonard Jarvis, 
Samuel Jones, 
John G. Jones, 



Edward Kurtz, 
Chs. W. Karthaus, 
Geo. H. Keerl, 
Edward Keene, 
Joseph King, Jr , 
John P. Kennedy, 
David Keener, 
J. P. Krafft, 
Samuel Kirk, 
Thomas Kehoe, 

William Lorman, 
Alexander Lorman, 
Robert Lyon, Jr., 
J. F. Lightner, 
G. W. Lurman, 
J. H. B. Latrobe, 
R. C. Long, 
Wm. Loney, 

Dr. J. C. Monkur, 
Isaac McKim, 
Mrs. Isaac McKim, 
John McKim, Jr., 
Wm. E. Mayhew, 
J. McTavish, 
John B. Morris, 
James Moore, 
Brantz Mayer, 
Dr. P. Macaulay, 
Chas. F. Mayer. 
Genl. Wm. McDonald, 

Augustus Newman, 
John H. Naff, 
Mrs. Alexander Nesbit, 
Peter Nants, 



32 



Dr. Nathaniel Potter, 
Robt. J. Purviance, 
J. Pierce, 
Maulden Perine, 
Josias Pennington, 
Enoch Pratt, 

Dr. Jas. B. Rogers, 

Lloyd N. Rogers, 
Joseph Robinson, 
J. H. Romeyn, 
Mrs. Geo. W. Riggs, 

Gideon B. Smith, 
Robert Sinclair, 
Robert Sinclair Jr., 
Henry Schroeder, 
Saml. Smith, 
Saml. W. Smith, 
P. B. Sadtler, 
John S. Skinner, 
Albert Seekamp, 
Dr. James Smith, 
Mrs. Christian Schaeffer, 
Miss Flora Smith, 
Henry Schwartze, 
Mrs. Geo. H. Steuart, 
Jehu Smith, 



James Str 
Lewis Smith, 



'•«» Minimi inn Mm Dm inn mi) i| h | .(;,, || || nd 

000 926 990 3 



Philip T. Tyson, 
Henry Thompson, 
Evan P. Thomas, 
Wm. G. Thomas, 
Mrs. Wm. G. Thomas, 
Miss Thomas, 
Geo. F. Thomae, 
Oliver W. Treadwell, 
Jeremiah Tittle, 
John D. Toy, 
Miss Todhunter, 
Robt. A. Taylor, 
Charles Tiernan, 
Mrs. Robt. A Taylor, 

Zebulon Waters, 
Chas. E. Wethered, 
George Waesche, 
Wm. F. Worthington, 
James W. Walsh, 
Geo. W. Williamson, 
J. H. Warfield, 
Saml. D. Walker, 
Caleb Whittimore, 
David S. Wilson. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



0000 i 15b c nQ3 



Hollinger Corp. 
P H 8.5 



